Voters in Duval County School Board District 6 will choose between Realtor Lindsey Denmark and school police Sgt. Clarence James on Nov. 3 for the seat being vacated by term-limited member Charlotte Joyce.

Denmark led the five-candidate Aug. 18 primary with 33.5% of the vote. James finished second with 20.6%, edging third-place finisher Tammyette Thomas by 200 votes. Neither candidate cleared the 50% threshold needed to win outright.

The financial picture heading into November favors James in cash on hand. Through Aug. 13, James had raised $100,700, including $62,000 of his own money, and spent $70,700, leaving him with roughly $30,000 in reserve, according to Florida Politics. Denmark raised $89,000 and spent $79,000, leaving approximately $10,000 on hand.

The District 6 race was the third-most expensive among more than 200 school board contests in Florida this year, based on the candidates’ combined fundraising before the primary.

Endorsements and alliances

Denmark secured Joyce’s endorsement, along with backing from School Board Vice Chair April Carney and state Sen. Clay Yarborough. All three officials have previously received financial support or public endorsements from Moms for Liberty, according to the Florida Tribune.

James, a retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office lieutenant who now serves as a sergeant with the Duval County School Police, has drawn contributions from the Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police and the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters. He also has endorsements from Republican State Attorney Melissa Nelson and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown. James calls himself a “bipartisan, bridge-building candidate,” according to the Jacksonville Times-Union.

Moms for Liberty’s diminished role

Five of the seven current Duval School Board members received financial support or public endorsements from Moms for Liberty during the 2022 or 2024 elections. But Moms for Liberty Florida had not made contributions to local school board candidates statewide this cycle as of the July report, according to ClickOrlando.

Statewide, the organization’s financial support fell from 54 candidates and $13,500 in 2022 to just over $2,000 for eight campaigns in 2024. The group had made no contributions to Florida school board candidates in 2026 as of the report.

Neither Denmark nor James had a direct Moms for Liberty financial contribution. Denmark’s backers have ties to the group, and James received contributions from Moms for Liberty-backed City Council member Rory Diamond.

Student discipline: a shared priority

Both candidates have made school safety a central issue. Denmark, whose teenage son is homeschooled, told the Florida Tribune on Aug. 17 that her “primary goal is to bring order back into our classrooms.”

James, who has children and a grandchild enrolled in district schools, said Aug. 17: “We have got to do something to get the violent, uncontrollable, disruptive behavior out of the classrooms so teachers can teach, and we can retain good teachers.”

Districtwide fighting incidents declined from 2,224 in the 2021-22 school year to 1,870 in 2024-25, according to Florida Department of Education data. But Chaffee Trail Middle School in District 6 reported 117 fights last year, the most of any school at any grade level in the state. Principal Cicely Tyson-White attributed the spike to overcrowding related to school consolidations. District officials said fighting dropped by nearly 50% after enrollment and class-transition adjustments.

What else is on the ballot

Voters will also decide Nov. 3 whether to renew the district’s 1-mill property tax referendum. Since its 2022 passage, the levy has funded an average of $8,600 in additional teacher compensation, helped raise retention from 87% to 91% and reduced vacancies from 6% to 4.4%, according to Superintendent Christopher Bernier.

Two other School Board runoffs are also on the Nov. 3 ballot: District 2, Donovan Bradley versus Donna Westrich, and District 4, James “Coach” Jacobs versus Rhodesia “Rho” Butler.